Trump to speak to Putin today - with nuclear plant and territory in play

'Are you serious, Mr Putin, about peace? Will you stop the fighting, or will you drag your feet and play games?'

- Pjotr Sauer Peter Walker

Donald Trump is to speak to Vladimir Putin today - with the two expected to discuss territory and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - after the Russian president last week pushed back on a US-brokered plan for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine with a series of sweeping conditions he said would need to be met.

The Kremlin confirmed yesterday that the two leaders were due to speak by phone, after Trump's statement that he planned to discuss with Putin ending the war in Ukraine. The US president also said that negotiators had already talked about "dividing up certain assets", including power stations.

"I'll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work's been done over the weekend," Trump told reporters on Air Force One during a flight back to the Washington area from Florida.

"We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but I think we have a very good chance," Trump said.

US and Russian officials have engaged in discussions about Ukraine in recent weeks, with talks accelerating after Washington and Kyiv agreed on a proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire last week.

Nevertheless, Putin in effect rejected the plan, instead outlining a series of conditions, including a halt to Ukraine's rearmament and mobilisation, as well as a suspension of western military aid to Kyiv during the 30-day ceasefire. He also renewed calls for broader negotiations on a long-term settlement to the war.